13 Episode 12 Peronia War Part 3 (2/2)

Darios was enjoying the crisis more than ever.

Darios led his mercenaries, 400 infantrymen and 300 crossbowmen, for a total of 700, plus 280 infantrymen hired from outside and 500 barbarian light cavalry.

A total of 400,000.

They were met by 800 heavy cavalry (clivanarius) led by Emperor Hercule, 150 infantry, and 500 longbowmen.

A total of 2,800.

Darius the Kuro Panther, mercenary captain.

Emperor of the Lemurian Empire, later known as the ”Champion of the Three Continents”.

The battle between the mercenary captain and the young emperor was about to begin.

Darius immediately began to prepare for the attack.

He hired 2,800 infantry from the outside to attack the front.

On the flank, 500 barbarian light cavalry.

Behind them were 400 mercenary infantrymen and 300 crossbow troops for a total of 700.

Darios' strategy was simple and straightforward.

It was a force majeure.

Or rather, there was no other option but force.

It was obvious that if he tried to cross the river and attack the flank, arrows would rain down on him.

However, Darius is no fool.

It is the mercenaries and barbarians that he has hired for money ...... and it doesn't matter how many die.

And to prevent them from escaping, he has placed his trusted elite behind them.

The mercenaries are used up and break through the defensive position of the Emperor of Hercule.

Finally, the mercenaries of his henchmen would finish him off.

That was the best Darios could come up with at the moment.

”Well, I suppose you know what to expect. If the Emperor of Hercule is as talented as I am, I would naturally expect this best move.

And ......

He's confident that he can win even with that best move, which is why he's positioned himself on the hill.

In other words, it's impossible for Darios to win with this strategy.

It's hard to win back a game you've lost on strategy with tactics. ...... But I'm not so innocent as to lose knowingly.

Darios will incorporate another strategy.

The second strategy.

The rest depends on how good your opponent is.

The die was cast.

Hercule muttered as he looked down from the top of the hill at the 2,800 mercenary infantry coming straight at him.

”Hmm ...... that's what they'll come for.

There were four tactics that Hercule thought Darios could employ.

The first is for the crossbow troops to shoot at Hercule's longbow troops and eliminate Hercule's longbow troops.

However, this is impossible if you know the performance of common sense weapons.

In the past, he lured the heavy cavalry of the Lemurian army into a swamp and skewered them with his crossbow troops. ......

It is unlikely that Darius, who defeated the previous emperor Hadrian in a battle that took advantage of the characteristics of his army and the terrain, would adopt this strategy.

The second is to force a siege.

The second strategy is to force a siege, encircling the Herculean army at the foot of the hill, and gradually closing the circle to annihilate it.

However, this is a poor strategy.

The side of the hill has a river running through it, and crossing the river will consume time and the strength of the soldiers.

Inevitably, the circle of siege will collapse.

After that, you can easily break through by using gravity to your advantage and charging with heavy cavalry (cribanarius) against the break.

After that, repeated assaults from behind will inevitably lead to the defeat of Darius' army.

There is a third option.

The third option is to divide your forces into two groups, one in front and one behind, and forcefully attack.

This is not a bad idea. ......

This is not a bad idea, but it raises the question of whether there are generals in the Darius army who can be trusted with one side of the army.

A general who is not likely to betray you, who can work with you at a distance, and most importantly, who can lead an army of more than 200,000 troops: ......

If there was such a thing, Darios would not have been driven to this point.

It is precisely because he is the only one who can lead an army and cannot be trusted to do so that Hercule has taken advantage of him.

Besides, splitting the army in two would lead to the dispersion of the forces.

In the first place, it is unlikely that Darios would choose to allocate his forces in a situation where it was doubtful that he could break through the defensive position.

Thus, the fourth option.

A frontal assault by force.

It's also ......

I'm sure you'll be able to guess what I'm going to say: ”Put the expendable mercenaries in front and the trustworthy elite behind them.

The only question now is how many tricks are in store for us.

The only thing that matters is how many tricks are in store for you.

That's how victory or defeat will be decided.

The rest will depend on the soldiers' efforts.

The die is cast.